Police take your property? Shira J. Stefanik will fight to get your stuff back.
Asset Forfeiture King County, Washington
You do not need to be charged with a crime for the government to take your property. Civil asset forfeiture is a proceeding that the government uses to try to take property they think you obtained with money from illegal sources. The government will take your cars, your cash, your bank accounts, electronics, clothing, and even the title to your house if they believe you cannot prove that the money you used to buy these things was legal.
Very often, police conduct a raid or a traffic stop, and an individual or a group of people are arrested, but not yet charged with a crime. This is usually when the cops take property and are serve the property owners with forfeiture notices. Do not make the mistake of ignoring the forfeiture because you think the government will not charge you with a crime later. Usually the government will take its time to prepare their criminal case before they file charges, because the statute of limitations for filing a criminal charges lasts several years after the arrest. However, asset forfeiture has several deadlines that you have to meet as soon as you receive notice that your property is seized, so you need an experienced Seattle forfeiture lawyer. Call us as soon as you are busted so we can help you keep your property.